Wednesday, January 9, 2013

From The Ground Up

Since the U2360 tour is still pretty much unforgettable to every fan who attended, why not continue cashing in on it, by giving the fan club members yet another treat from the tour? The new thick book, titled From The Ground Up, exceeds my expectations, in terms of describing the making of the tour, better than any tour documentary I've seen so far. It's filled with beautiful photographs of the claw, in and and out of action, shot from every conceivable angle. Flipping through the pages brings back wonderful memories from December 2010. That's not all; subscribers also get a bonus CD, a follow-up to last year's fantastic U22 compilation -- this time Edge has handpicked fifteen additional tracks from the tour. The sound mix is very varied, ranging from not bad to average to downright sucky.

On the bright side, it's nice that a couple of those songs I previously voted to be in U22 appear on this -- Miss Sarajevo, Hold Me Thrill Me..., Electrical Storm, New Year's Day, I Will Follow and 40, the final song ever played on the tour, its one and only time. And lo and behold, Edge chose Vertigo from Perth! To his ears, it's the best version! But the bomb has to be the most obscure one of all, Your Blue Room. It's the best U2 song most people have not heard of, one of my top favorites. This particular one is taken from the New Jersey show, and it has only been played live seven times, and Sinead O'Connor sings the chorus part. It's pretty damn good.

So altogether there are 43 different songs, all soundboard recordings, released so far from this tour, including six download-only from U2.com: No Line On The Horizon, Desire (also from Perth!), Pride, Angel Of Harlem, Unknown Caller, and the rare Spanish Eyes.

FROM THE GROUND UP Tracklist:

1. Breathe
Recorded at Stadio San Siro, Milan, 8th July 2009

2. I Will Follow
Recorded at Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels, 22nd September 2010

3. Get On Your Boots
Recorded at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, 20th September 2009

4. New Year's Day
Recorded at Croke Park, Dublin, 27th July 2009

5. Electrical Storm
Recorded at Stadio San Siro, Milan, 8th July 2009

6. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
Recorded at Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, 11th May 2011

7. Your Blue Room
Recorded at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, 23rd September 2009

8. Vertigo
Recorded at Subiaco Oval, Perth, 18th December 2010

9. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
Recorded at Stade de France, Paris, 11th July 2009